


Jealous

by Little_Miss_Illusional



Category: Class of the Titans
Genre: F/M, Implied Relationships, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-19
Updated: 2013-01-19
Packaged: 2017-11-26 01:44:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/645155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Miss_Illusional/pseuds/Little_Miss_Illusional
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Call it an epiphany, but perhaps Archie had more than admiration for Jay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jealous

Archie couldn't pinpoint why exactly he'd taken a disliking to Theresa. Surely it couldn't have just been her daddy's-girl-brat visage that irked him - he was used to dealing with that sort of pretentiousness. It could have been the fact that she was a better fighter than him. Not that he'd admit to it. And that probably wasn't it, either. If it was, there would be a lot more people that ticked him off. He'd learnt a long time ago that while he was a competent street fighter, he wasn't invincible. Nowhere near it.

He watched her now as she flicked her stupid orange hair over her shoulder, laughing as she ate her stupid breakfast. What was so good about raisin toast, anyway?

Morning people. He scowled.

Sitting in the chair next to the redheaded psychic, Jay was waving his arms energetically in an impersonation of… a Stymphalian Bird? Archie glared Theresa moved closer to their leader, touching her fingers to his shoulder. She whispered something in his ear - words Archie couldn't hear - and Jay smiled. Ruffling his hair for good measure, the girl laughed again and announced that she was going to get ready for school.

Archie's scowl deepened, and he returned to his bowl of cereal with renewed intensity.

He heard the scraping of a chair along the floor, but he didn't look up.

"Archie?"

"What?" he said irritably, attacking the cornflakes with his spoon.

Jay made a wounded noise. "Nothing. Don't bite my head off." The leader walked to the sink, rinsing his coffee mug and plate. "Mind helping me with the washing up?" he called to Archie, throwing a tea towel at the younger teen before he could answer.

Grudgingly, Archie caught the tea towel. Jay smirked as he made his way to the sink. For his part, Archie ignored the stupid grin and concentrated on the washing up.

When the job was done, he made to leave the kitchen. A firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to meet Jay's eyes, a curious expression on his face.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Jay asked lowly. "You've been off, these past few weeks. What's going on, Arch?"

"Nothing." He retorted quickly. Probably too quickly.

Jay sighed, pinching his nose. "I know you and Theresa have been at each others' throats lately. Do you want to explain that?"

He shrugged. "She's not my favourite person in the world."

"Why's that?" Jay asked slowly.

"I… I just don't want you to get hurt." He made a special point not to meet Jay's eyes. "She's probably not that into you. I mean, she gets everything she wants and then she'll just tell you to get lost-"

"Theresa's not like that."

He dragged his eyes away from the floor and met Jay's stony gaze. The older teen's eyes were hard, but underneath, they were livid.

"What's all this about, Arch?" He crossed his hands over his chest, a hardened expression on his face. "Why do you care?"

"Like you don't know." Archie muttered. He wasn't sure he knew either, but it seemed like the right thing to say. His heart was pounding in his chest, like it could have exploded at any second.

Jay studied him for a few moments. Archie refused to look away now. He dared not. His thoughts were jagged, and his heart was thumping still, so loud Jay must have heard it too.

"I'm going to get ready for school," Jay announced, eventually, exasperated. He strode past Archie, disappearing out of the kitchen. He heard the leader thumping up the stairs, up into the hallway.

Archie sighed, breathing slowly.

Breath in. Breath out.

His thoughts were jagged, slowing as he concentrated on breathing. Jay's anger and Theresa's laughter eventually faded from his mind, until he was alone, in the kitchen, probably very late for school. He didn't care about the later, but he knew that sooner or later, he'd have to address what the hell had happened between Jay and him.

He didn't get it. He couldn't wrap his dork head around why his heart thumped so brutally around his tousle-haired leader, or why Theresa's empathy bothered him so much. So why was it such a big deal?

Why do you care?

Oh.

The thought hit him like a train.

And suddenly, everything clicked into place. He understood now, why he was behaving in this way. Why he'd been off the past couple of weeks. Why he felt different whenever Jay was around, and why he felt so damn irritated when Theresa entered the room. Now that he realised, it was so simple, he wondered why he hadn't realised until now.

He cared. About Jay. He cared about Jay.

He cared in a way that wasn't right for friends.

And Jay couldn't reciprocate, because his heart was already full of Theresa.

"Everything is shit." He announced to the empty kitchen. The kitchen didn't respond, save for the low humming of the fridge, and the noises of the city, leaking in from the window opened above the sink. What condolences could the kitchen offer, anyway? Sorry that you're infatuated with someone who isn't infatuated with you. Apologies that you're jealous.

"I'm not jealous!" He slammed his hand onto the countertop.

"Archie?"

He spun around, blushing. Theresa peered in from the doorway, her green eyes taking him in shrewdly. He shrugged. People talked to themselves all the time.

He met her eyes.

Grey on green.

The psychic's expression softened. She knew. He knew it. He could see it in her eyes. She'd seen his infatuation, his anger, his damn jealousy.

"We both can't have him," she murmured.

"I know."

He knew Jay would choose her. He was also selfish enough to consider, just for a moment or so, putting up more of a fight. But who was he to fight a fighter?

He was cutting his losses.

He was letting go.

Theresa nodded, a sense of finality in the gesture. The psychic peered at him for a moment; he felt her mind pressing into his, reaching into his carefully guarded thoughts. Mentally, he pushed her out. She shrugged, taking a few steps back.

"I'll see you at school, Arch." She smiled, a little sad.

He nodded. A beat, a sigh, and then;

"Mind if I walk with you?"

Theresa looked up, a little surprised, which quickly faded to a smirk.

"Who said anything about walking?" She twirled her car keys on her index finger, grinning.

Archie couldn't help but return the smile.

**Author's Note:**

> This story can also be read on Fanfiction dot net, under my drabble series 'Sleepless Demeanours'.
> 
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
